Slot closer



R. R. PAINE July 8 1924.`v

SLOT CLOSER Filed March '29. 1923 Iy 7 [lu/enla] Roscoe R ,Pqjmg @yam @m4 *Y required; the services of Patented July 8, 1924. i, i

UNITED sTATEs To all whom it imag concern: f

Be it known thatv I, Roscon R. PAINE, sa citizen of the United" States,residingl at Waterville, in the county of Kennebec and etc., to enter and particularly cold-air which -comes into the interior `of the automobile through such openings during coldweather.

Slot closers have been made .and applied 'to automobiles constructed of rubber ianges f, adapted to close aroundthe slot and around lthe projecting brake or lever Y for the ypur- Y pose of closing the space but allsofA gsuch Y i devices so far as l am'aware were riveted orotherwise permanently Yfastened ,to the p floor of the machine andtheir installation VYboring holes, etc.

,duceaself-contained slotV closenf of the projecting brake orflever.`

superposed upon the slots in thelacloor.'

sanie general charaeter ofV vsomeofrthose which have been in use, namely, lwithfipairs of flexible and elastic flanges adaptedI to lill the slot and extend closelynaroundthe yThe-particular purpose,"'however, 'flmy invention is to construct such a'slot closer-V cutfrom rubber sheetsror' the like andv fastened together in'lsuch a mannerv ,thatthey' will be self-contained,Y readily handled as a whole and above fall, readily'placed in-'position and kept in positionby slots; in therloor mat corresponding with and` j According to my inventiom-my slot; closer Pfor each 'projectinglever' or arm is formed of two pieces of flat .andela'sticf material as? heavy sheet rubber cut out ft'offfoiin ai ,pair of'up'wardlyfprojecting V4and vcontactf' ng`-ang`es `to"cev'er= the slot and' surroundk the projecting arm or lever, the material composing? the ilianges being formedv to"` con-V -IIS 'With lie' 'flatbody f portion "of the 'delcifwh'h" Surrounds the flanges, thisf'dei being'fheld place' themat land Apiication ined Maren 29,

"a 'fmechanic for 1 PATENT oFFlcEQ OF WATERVILLE, MAINE.

Y"sLo'r CLOSER.-

1923:` serial No. 628,607.'Y

by theedges of the slot'formed in the mat to correspond with the slot in the car.

The flat body portion of my device is Apreferablysecured together by metal plates and rivets so that the device is complete and self-contained Zand `can be readily handled as a whole. It can be taken out 'and put` in by being slipped over the projectingbrake or lever and held securely in place by the slotted mat inwhich the slotslit closely around the upwardly projectingzfflanges of my slot closer, thus holding the structure iirmly.l in place against longitudinal or lateral movement'.

A Thusymy slot closer may be readily slippod'Y in placeby removing, the rslotted rug, slipping theA slot` closer over the lever or leverswhich project up between the con-L .tacting flanges :and finally holding the slot closer down. by putting the mat' back inl'its old; position so that the-body of the mat presses downward onsjthe rbody portion of the slot closer, and the. inneigedgeV olrthef. slotsf'ofthe jmatgjare infp'osition tending i gto,l preventV either` longitudinal-for lateral The object of my invention is to, pito` movement on -the part of. the slot closer. .The Ylateral motion is also prevented by the position of the :levers bearing against up-` ward extending flanges. i Y 1 r Thedevice being made of sheetI rubber or-,otherflike vmaterial, can be readily revversedfor turned upside'down,jthe anges being bent to assume thesame'relative po\ sition as they were before turning vso that :the .device is in eii'ect a quadruple, one be- My yinvention is illustrated' inthe aecom- 'panying drawing which shows my device Ya`s applied toaFord sedan.-

`In the drawing:-. j l l :,Figl l is a perspective viewv of the `floor mat as it appears on the lfloor of the fau- Vt'omobile with'A my device inrposition,

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of myslot closer with the Vendreinforcing plates omitted; y? y Fig,` 3 is across section-on -the line 3-2-3 of Fig.'2, 'l Y Fig. 4 is a plan of the flat material as cut out to form one of the interior strips of what l shall term my multiple slot closer,

Fig. 5 is a plan of the flat material which forms one side of my single slot closer and the outside member of the multiple slot closer,

Fig. 6 is a plan of the multiple slot closer,

Fig. 7 is a. section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6 and,

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the single slot closer.

Referring to the drawing, like reference figures indicate like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

In the drawing, 1 indicates the rear portion of the floor mat which contains 'the single slot 2 and occupies the horizontal portion of the Hoor of the machine while the forward portion 1 slopes forwardly and upwardly and contains the enlarged slot 2.

The slot 2 is designed to allow the passage of the emergency brake 3 and the slot 2 is designed to allow the passage of the three operating foot levers 4, 5, and 6 used in the Ford machine.

Referring to the single slot closer, two pieces of flexible elastic material preferably sheet rubber are cut out as shown in Fig. 5, one lateral half 7 of which forms the flat body portion of the completed device and the other half 8 forms one of the upturned flanges for enclosing the projecting arm or lever. The portion 8 is shorter than the body portion 7 whereby a short projection 9 projects from each end. Both of these adjacent projections abut each other and extend across the two ends to hold the strips together and in proper relation to Y each other to form the body portion of the single slot closer.

In the case of the single slot closer to be applied to the brake 8 two strips similar to 7 are simply placed together side by side abutting the edges 10H10 of the projection 9 and bending upward the portions 8 thereby forming a double upwardV projecting flange as shown in Figs. 1 and 8.

The two abutting portions of the projection 9 are securely fastened together by a suitable plate14 preferably a metal plate bent or folded over the edges of the projections 9 9. The metal strips thus eX- tend across the two ends and are secured to the two parte by rivets 15 passing through the rivet holes 11.

This single slot closer is placed in position by slipping it on over vthe end of the brake lever 3 and causing it to rest on the fioor.

The mat is now put in place with the slot completely surrounding the two flanges 8 and preventing either lateral or longitudinal movement of the slot closer.

The arm projecting up through between the flanges 8 which are elastic and flexible will cause these flanges to conform closely to the arm or lever as it moves back and forth in operation and substantially closing the slot against incoming dust or air.

he multiple slot closer as shown in Fig. 2 is made up in a similar manner except that three slots and three levers are provided for instead` of one.

The outside member is the same as 7 shown in Fig. 5 with two intermediate members 12 and 13 made up of material eut as in Fig. 4 with upward projecting iianges 8 and 8 and end projections 9.

The projections 9 of the body portion come in line and correspond with the projection 9 of the side pieces so that the four projections 9 and 9 form a margin extending entirely across the end of the slot closer from side to side and this margin is secured in place by a plate 14 secured to the rubber sheeting by rivets 15 as in the case of the single slot closer.

As thus constructed, the multiple slot closer becomes a self-contained complete device capable of being put in place over the three operating levers and Vbeing held in place by the mat 1, the outer edges ofthe slot 2 fitting over and resting upon the plates 14 and the strips 7, which formy the sides of the fiat bodyv portion of the multiple slot closer.

The plates 14 are preferably formed as( shown in Fig. 7 with U-shaped cross section enclosing both sides of the material and forming a stiffl and solid end'to both the multiple slot closer and the single closer.

It will be seen that the formation of 4both my single and multiple slot closers is exceedingly simple.

The strips used are cut out in simple patterne from sheet rubber or other likematerial held together by metal plates readily applied. Instead of metal plates, other means may be used to form the flat body portion which surrounds the flanges.

My slot closer as thus made up is compact and in condition to be vsold to users who are able to apply it to their cars without the services of mechanics.v It thus becomes a desirable article of commerce capable of being sold Vby accessory dealers and answering admirably the needs of Ford owners or the owners of other automobiles for which it may he designed.

1. A `slot closing device for automobiles and the like including two pieces of Hat, elastic and flexible material as sheet rubber cut away to form a pair of upwardly projecting and contacting elastic flanges to` cover the slot and surround the operating lever, the material composing the flanges being formed to connect with the lower edge slot of said flanges with a flat body portion surrounding the slot and a retaining mat having a slot therein iitting around said ianges and resting on said body portion to hold it in place.

2. A slot closing device for automobiles and the like including two pieces of flat elastic and flexible material as sheet rubber, cut away to form a pair of upwardly projecting and contacting flanges to cover the slot and surround the operating lever, the material forming the flanges being formed to connect the lower edges of said flanges with a flat body portion surrounding the slot, metal plates for connecting parts of said body portion and a retaining mat hav,- ing a slot therein itting around said flanges and resting upon said body portion to hold it in place.

3. A slot closing device for automobiles and the like including two pieces of flat, elastic and flexible material as sheet rubber, cut away to form a pair of upwardly projecting and contacting Hanges to cover 'the slot and surround the operating lever, the

material forming the flanges being formed to connect the lower edges of said flanges with a iat body portion surrounding the slot, metal plates extending across the ends of said slot closer to reinforce said flexible material to form the end portion of the body and a retaining mat ghaving a slot therein fitting around said flanges and resting on said body portion to hold it in place.

'4. A slot closing device for automobiles and the like including a plurality of pairs of flat pieces of elastic and flexible material as sheet rubber held side by side, said material cut away to form a plurality of pairs of upwardly projecting and contacting flanges to cover the slot and surroundv the operating levers, the material forming the flanges being formed to connect the lower Rosoon RANDALL PAINE. 

